Saturday, October 16, 2010

When I tell people it's sort of a prune jam, they scrunch their face, as if I've told them I was making boiled head broth. But I grew up eating apricot, walnut and prune lekvárs. So for me, it's normal.

I love prune lekvár on a roll with butter. Just split a roll and butter both sides of each piece, then put it in a hot skillet. Oh, what a great way to heat bread. Then spread the lekvár on and enjoy. It's also used for rolling into palacsintas (Hungarian crepes). And it's even good when used as a filling for dough, the same way cheese goes in ravioli or potatoes into perogies.

Whether used in baked treats or as part of the main meal, Hungarian prune lekvár really is delicious, I swear.

Just chop a bag of pitted prunes, add water and sugar and cook it down, adding water and sugar as needed. The water rehydrates the fruit and the sugar adds a bit of sweetness.

I don't have the exact measurements to give you, because Mamam (Hungarian Grandma) never gave me measurements. "You just cooking it," she would say in her thick accent. "And you no burning it," she'd add.

I thought of Mamam when I spied a new (or new to me), brand of prunes listed as preservative free. I had a buck fifty off with coupons, so I thought I'd give them a try. Can't wait to see how they work in my homemade lekvár.

5 comments:

it sounds good. i like prunes. i don't know why people don't ... prunes are really tasty! my grandmother used to make kolaches, a czech pastry, and she would send us some with apricot or poppy fillings [the poppy ones were my dad's and my favorite]. but she also sometimes sent a third flavor as well. i always thought it was plum, but now i'm wondering if it wasn't prune ... it was that color. the kolaches would come in a shoebox, wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. i think they arrived on sunday, just about the time my dad and i were sitting down for breakfast.

yes, i think that's the problem with food photos ... they have to have tons of lights, i guess. mega-wattage!

years later, my dad started making kolaches, and he used the bohemian cookbook that an old family friend had published. alas, her measurements often consisted of "a pinch of that," "a handful of this" ... i guess he finally found a recipe--this was long before the internet--so he could make kolaches. and they were good! maybe one of these days i'll try.

apparently, there are a ton of czechs in texas, and they have an annual kolache festival!